Love's Theme
"Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece written by Barry White in around 1965. Recorded and released as a single by White's The Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973, it was one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, which it did in early 1974.[2] Billboard ranked it as the #3 song for 1974.[3]
| "Love's Theme" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the US single | ||||
| Single by The Love Unlimited Orchestra | ||||
| from the album Under the Influence of... Love Unlimited and Rhapsody in White | ||||
| B-side | "Sweet Moments" | |||
| Released | November 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | (Single) 3:30 (Album) 4:08 | |||
| Label | 20th Century/Pye International | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Barry White | |||
| Producer(s) | Barry White | |||
| The Love Unlimited Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| Love Unlimited Orchestra – Love's Theme (live at TopPop) on YouTube | ||||
The song was included on two albums: 1973's Under the Influence of... Love Unlimited (by the vocal group Love Unlimited) and 1974's Rhapsody in White by the Love Unlimited Orchestra. Love Unlimited would re-release the song for their next album In Heat only this time with different arrangements and lyrics written by Aaron Schroeder.
The recording (with a large string orchestra, modified guitar and big rhythm) was considered to be an influence on the disco sound, which would increase popularity the following year. The song was also popular on the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States (spending two weeks at #1) and was also a #1 on Cash Box.
In Canada, the single was similarly successful, being a #1 on the RPM 100 National Singles Chart on March 2, 1974.[4]
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
Certifications
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Cover versions & samples
- "Love's Theme" was recorded in its first vocal version by Love Unlimited (on their 1974 album In Heat).
- Andy Williams released a vocal version in May 1974 that reached No. 16 on the adult contemporary chart in the United States.[23]
- Enoch Light recorded an electro-disco instrumental version on his 1977 album, Disco Disque. The song is also part of
- Meco's instrumental medley "Hooked On Instrumentals Part I" (from the 1985 album Hooked On Instrumentals).
- In May 1993, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released the single "Dream of Me (Based on Love's Theme)" (from their album Liberator, released the same year) which used a sample of this Barry White composition; it reached No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart, with a writing credit from Barry White.
In popular culture
- "Love's Theme" was also used by ABC Sports for many years as the opening theme music for its golf coverage.
- New York television station WPIX used it as the closing music for its then-Action News franchise during the mid-1970s.[24][25]
- The Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways used the music for their TV advertisements.
- "Love's Theme" was also featured briefly in Mean Girls, Despicable Me 2, El Cantante, Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.
- "Love's Theme" was also used as the opening theme for the Brazilian telenovela Celebridade and as the opening and closing theme of the Italian reality program C'è posta per te.
- Seven Network's music video show Sounds Unlimited used the song as its opening and closing theme.
See also
References
- The Best of Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra - Love Unlimited Orchestra | Songs, Reviews, Credits at AllMusic
- Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 518.
- Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1974
- "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- "The Love Unlimited Orchestra – Love's Theme" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- "CAN Charts > The Love Unlimited Orchestra". RPM. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
- "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1974-02-16. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
- "The Love Unlimited Orchestra – Love's Theme" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- Flavour of New Zealand, 10 August 1974
- "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- "Love Unlimited Orchestra: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- "Love Unlimited Orchestra Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- "Love Unlimited Orchestra Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- "Love Unlimited Orchestra Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- "National Top 100 Singles for 1974". Kent Music Report. December 30, 1974. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
- Canada, Library and Archives (January 16, 2018). "Image : RPM Weekly".
- "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1974". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1974
- Musicoutfitters.com
- "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Year End (1974)". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- "American single certifications – Love Unlimited – Love's Theme". Recording Industry Association of America.
- Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 258.
- "Wiki for Barry White – Love's Theme". Last.fm. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- Action News close with the Harpers, followed by Editorial Feedback, 7/10/75 on YouTube
External links
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